NEW TIER -- OLD SCHOOL CLOTH MAP BOX EDITION FOR $125!

You asked for it, we listened, and YOU GOT IT -- a $125 Tier for the Old School Edition with a Cloth Map!

$125: OLD-SCHOOL CLOTH MAP EDITION -- All the previous rewards + a BOXED EDITION OF OLD SCHOOL RPG + CLOTH MAP + CD CONTAINING THE OLD SCHOOL RPG AND SOUNDTRACK + EXCLUSIVE OLD SCHOOL RPG LOGO T-SHIRT + VIP IN-GAME CHARACTER HONOR + CUSTOM OLD SCHOOL RPG METAL DOG TAG MEDALLION. Harkening back to the golden era of RPGs, the Old School edition of Old School RPG comes complete with a classic RPG box which opens to reveal the Old School RPG t-shirt wrapping the game's CD and soundtrack. A cloth map of the world and classic trinket medallion -- in this case, a Shaker Corporation dogtag -- completes the 1980's effect. Please add $15 for international shipping.

MAN, I do want the cloth map (so cool, so nostalgic), but I don't think I can justify backing a game for more than $100 (+international shipping) at my current financial situation. If there was a reward tier around the $65-$75 mark that was a boxed edition with the map but none of the other swag, that would pique my interest for sure.

It's not just about backing a game want to see made. There are limits to what i will pledge merely to see a game be made, depending on the game. For instance, the most i would pledge to see PE made with no rewards is around $50 maximum. Cause i'd still have to buy the game when released.
However, good rewards means i loosen my wallet a lot more than i normally would, in PE's case, all the way to 500. The rewards mass produced wouldnt cost them more than 100. So theyre netting 400+ from me rather than maximum 50. or in the case of a game i'm not 100% behind yet, maybe 50-250 rather than say $1-$5.

Yes, Kickstarter is fund raising, but shopping.
That doesn't mean people are willing to just hand over big amounts of money, which is obviously where the rewards come in. At least for me, the rewards are needed to convince me that I'm not just throwing money away.

For backers, Kickstarter primarily is gambling. You have to hope that the project will really be completed and is not just a scam, so you have to calculate the risk of a failure and wasted money against the prize you get if it is really finished. That's probably different for every backer, and therefore hared to do right.

That's not to say I think this is a scam, I'm sure a good game will come out of this, but saying this is fund raising and you shouldn't look how much the extra rewards cost you is shortsighted. That's not the way to convince people to gamble with their hard earned money.

So I know plenty of people who kickstart projects, and I myself have/are backing 29 projects, with pledges from $15 to $250. Every person I know is doing this for two reasons, (1) To see the games/products made that we want to see made, (2) To recieve a copy of said product with a percieved value that they are happy with. Obviously every has a diffenet view of percieved value. The 'baubles' is what addes percieved value to me, as I like the old school boxes and 'trinkets', they make me happy :), by the same token, that percieved value has it's limits (as does my wallet)!

The most succesfull kicktsater projects I've seen not only have a great idea and a great person/team behind them, they also have done well setting pledge levels that sit in the sweet spot for peoples percieved value ranges. Kickstarter most defiantely has a 'shop' component, even if they kickstarter says it isn't one.

Jason puts it very well. At risk of repeating what he said, I've seen Kickstarter responses shift in the last 6 months away from the excitement of getting a game that the commercial entities tell us isn't wanted anymore, towards a worrying analysis about the value for money you'll get at various pledges. People are really threatening to withdraw their support because they think the baubles being offered cost less than the cost upgrade. What would be the point of offering a higher pledge in that case? The devs would simply lose the extra in the cost of the reward. It's all about offering something unique to provide incentive to up your pledge and give them more money over and above the cost of the rewards. Saying "Kickstarter is not a shop" really is the simplest way of putting it. Ultimately it should be about how much you want the game, the rewards are just icing.

Having said that, it really highlights how important it is to get more information to potential backers about the game you're offering. That's the most important thing, and while the last update in particular was very much welcome it's still lacking in comparison to the information being provided by some other Kickstarter projects. We don't just want an Old School RPG, we want a damn good Old School RPG that'll be remembered for years (like all the best ones still are). Show the doubters why that's going to be the case!

Have you guys considered something like a reddit AMA for example? Setting up a Shaker Facebook page where getting a "likes" goal nets an additional reward? Be creative.

If i do up from the lowest tier its going to be to the 250 tier.
I will wait to see though if they can sweeten the 250 tier any further.
Obsidian offered really.good incentives toward the end to up tier levels.
I'm hoping the same will occur with this project.
One potential sweetener would be: *adding a pysical copy of adventurers guide to the 250 tier.*

When Loot Drop announced that they were going to add a lower-cost "cloth map" tier, I wondered how long before someone went and made the arithmetic of (Previous Tier) + (Difference in Tier) = (How much is being charged for a Cloth Map). Looks like it took all of a few minutes.

Kickstarter Economics appears to be a subject well worth having a better FAQ for (maybe a book) because people are doing these weird judgments. This is specifically why Kickstarter came out with a blog entry called "Kickstarter is Not a Store". Loot Drop didn't just offer a $8 burger, then say it was $16 with fries - they're trying to raise money to have a team of 25 people work on a game for a significant amount of time. That's a lot of capital to spend to bring out such a game. I hope people are clear on that.

Therefore, the money being raised is, ideally, NOT the cost of manufacturing and delivering the rewards. It's a caring, fun trifle being given to you as a thanks and appreciation of your contribution towards the goal of completing the project. NOT a pre-sale. NOT a pre-order. If you don't understand that, Kickstarter campaigns will confuse you now until the end of time.

Thanks for your feedback -- other Kickstarters vary, one adds the cloth map at $140 or so.

Being a Kickstarter, this is helping fund the project as well as pre-buying cool copies at a reasonable price. We're trying to strike a fair balance and get everyone cool stuff at a decent level and still be able to make an awesome, full-featured game for everyone!

Sooo .. an extra $25 for a cloth map. Really? I know this is about backing your game, but I think the reason you are not doing as well as you might be doing is that you are pricing your rewards too high. I bought all the old games with cloth maps, and not one of them cost me more than $100 (except Ultima Acesions Dragon edition .. which was awaesome). My opinion is that you should be including the Cloth Map in the $100 tier